James Horton

After parting ways with owner John Dance, conditioner James Horton will return to Newmarket to begin training next term on his own. When leading chaser Bravemansgame (Fr) (Brave Mansonnien {Fr})--co-owned by Dance--was barred from running in the Aintree Grand National meeting early this year, the horse was later allowed to continue his career when Bryan Drew took sole ownership. Dance's other horses, most with Horton, were cleared to run, though under different names, in May but with the announcement Monday of "further concerns coming to light", another interim stop had...

Few, if any, trainers have been in more consistent form this season than William Haggas, who now finds himself atop the table in Britain, with a strike-rate of 27% for the season. His earnings of £4,611,340 at the time of writing place him narrowly ahead of reigning champion Charlie Appleby. Top of the Somerville Lodge list of horses, and the earner of roughly a third of the yard's prize-money this year, is of course arguably the best horse in the world, Baaeed (GB), around whom continues to swirl uncertainty as...

James Horton, who made a dazzling start to his training career with a treble at Redcar on Easter Monday, is now focusing his attention on saddling his first runners at Royal Ascot. A former assistant to Sir Michael Stoute in Newmarket, Horton is now training at John and Jess Dance's Manor House Farm stables in Middleham. He plans to run Sunday's York sprint winner Asjad (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) at the Royal meeting as well as  the G2 July S. third Sam Maximus (GB) (Showcasing {GB}). "The Wokingham is the plan...

As statements of intent go, the results for Charlie Appleby's stable over recent weeks speak loudly as to his determination to retain the trainers' championship in 2022. Twenty-three runners have emerged from Moulton Paddocks in the last fortnight, and 13 of them have returned home as winners, most importantly Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the champion 2-year-old in Europe last year whose triumph return in the G3 Craven S. got the season off on a proper footing. Of that baker's dozen, four were by the trainer's reliable old friend...

John and Jess Dance have purchased Manor House Farm & Stud in Middleham and plan to develop the property for their yearlings and racing stock, they announced on Twitter Monday morning. The MG1SW Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) is the best runner so far in John Dance's name, and going forward, all of the Dance runners will race in the name of John and Jess Dance. The couple also have new black and gold colours, with Laurens's colours acting as second colours. James Horton will become a private trainer at Manor...